PHOENIX (AP) – A Phoenix science teacher is urging a judge to stop a district-wide mask mandate that violates a new state law, district officials said Tuesday.
Richard Franco, a spokesman for the Phoenix Union High School District, upheld Douglas Hester’s motion for an injunction on the mandate. The superintendent and the board members are named as defendants in the motion.
“We stand behind our decision to currently require masks and stand firm in our commitment to do everything in our power to protect our employees, students, families and the wider community,” Franco said in a statement.
The school district attorneys have been instructed to bring their case to a hearing in Maricopa County Superior Court on Wednesday. The trial could be a test case for Arizona school districts determined to defy Republican Governor Doug Ducey.
The Phoenix Union, which resumed classes on Monday, has around 28,000 students and 4,000 employees. The board decided last week to enforce the wearing of masks indoors.
Hester is listed on the district website as a biology, environmental science, and math teacher at Metro Tech High School.
“No school district is above the law,” Hester’s attorney Alexander Kolodin told The Arizona Republic. “We are delighted to be taking steps on behalf of this brave teacher to ensure that government agencies are complying with state laws.”
A second school, Phoenix Elementary, approved a mandatory mask rule on Monday regardless of the vaccination status of students, staff and visitors. Exceptions only exist for special medical reasons.
“We know our children learn best in person, and we will implement containment strategies that will help minimize the spread of disease, reduce the need for quarantines, and avoid class and school closings,” said one Declaration of the district.
Phoenix Elementary has 14 schools, most of which are located in central Phoenix. The district’s more than 5,000 students begin classes on Thursday.
The state ban on mask requirements by school districts was included in the budget law passed at the end of June. The law doesn’t come into effect until September 29th, but it contains a provision that says the ban is retroactive.
It is not clear whether the state ban is now in place. A lawmaker backing the ban has asked government attorneys to indicate when it will take effect.
For other developments:
Virus-related hospital admissions in Arizona more than doubled in the past month, according to data reported Tuesday by state health officials.
There were 1,207 COVID-19 patients in hospital beds as of Monday, up from 520 a month earlier on July 2. The state reported 1,974 additional COVID-19 cases and 30 more deaths, bringing the total number of the pandemic to 933,361 cases and 18,282 deaths.
The chief clinical officer of Banner Health, the state’s largest hospital system, begged the public Tuesday to get vaccinated. Dr. Marjorie Bessel warned that increases in falls like in July 2020 and January are very likely.
“The slope of what we are beginning to experience comes very, very close to the exponential growth that we have seen during these two very large climbs,” said Bessel during a virtual press conference.
Banner Health also announced that it would tighten visitor restrictions due to the increasing spread of the virus. The restrictions stipulate that only one or two visitors per patient per day are allowed, depending on the location. In addition, visitors must be at least 12 years old and must not have or be suspected of having COVID-19.
– Yavapai County announced on Monday that it would close its public buildings again from Thursday due to rising COVID-19 infections and hospital stays, as well as the county’s low vaccination rate, The Daily Courier reported.
As with previous closings during the pandemic, the county offices and services will continue to operate, although public access will be restricted, said chairman of the board, Craig Brown.
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